The promise of jobs created by US weapons exports plays a major role in generating support for arms sales in Congress and the Executive Branch. During President Trump’s 2017 state visit to Saudi Arabia, he pledged $110 billion in new arms offers in the name of “jobs, jobs, jobs.”... Read More »

This listing includes articles by project director William D. Hartung; articles quoting or citing the project or its work; and radio and TV appearances. The project published 5 research reports; articles that appeared in 99 newspapers and web sites; project director William D. Hartung was quoted in 56 news outlets and appeared on 15 radio and TV programs. The 170 total media “hits” registered by the project added up to over three per week... Read More »

The election of Donald Trump as president of the United States shocked the world. The contrast between his worldview and that of his predecessor, Barack Obama, could not have been starker. The global forces of authoritarianism were given a huge boost by this turn of events while supporters of democracy and human rights were left demoralized and disillusioned. Among the governments that openly celebrated the 2016 presidential result, one country stands out—the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia... Read More »

The U.S. arms sales relationship with Saudi Arabia is increasingly controversial as a result of the brutal Saudi bombing campaign in Yemen, which has utilized U.S.-supplied weaponry to target civilians, causing thousands of deaths in the process... Read More »

Coming up with a reliable number for spending on the Pentagon and related programs can be complicated. There are multiple funding streams, and not all of them come by way of the Pentagon’s budget. Articles on Pentagon spending often give incomplete numbers, or fail to explain which aspects of spending on national defense are being described. This fact sheet is designed to provide a guide to the different funding
streams and where things stand as of July 2017... Read More »

The Costs of War Project at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs and the Center for International Policy released a report today on the proposed Trump military budget in historical, strategic, and budgetary perspective. The report entitled, The Military Budget and the Costs of War: The Coming Trump Storm, reveals the full costs of U.S. spending on national security-related functions and demonstrates that much of that money is being misspent due to special interest lobbying and a distorted view of what will make America and its allies safer... Read More »

This report summarizes articles and media appearances by Arms and Security Project director William D. Hartung during 2016. The project’s work during 2016 focused on reining in Pentagon spending and reducing arms transfers to the Middle East, as part of a larger effort to promote a more effective U.S. foreign policy that focuses on preventing conflict rather than engaging in military action... Read More »

Despite the fact that it involves billions of dollars worth of weaponry, the U.S./UAE arms transfer relationship receives relatively little attention among the public, in the media, or in Congress. In part this is because the UAE connection is overshadowed by the U.S. role as the primary arms supplier to Saudi Arabia, and Saudi Arabia’s use of U.S. arms in its brutal bombing campaign in Yemen. But the UAE’s increasingly effective military capabilities and growing regional security role deserve closer scrutiny, both because of their impact on the future of the region and their implications for the future of U.S. arms transfer policy... Read More »

This issue brief provides information on the amounts and types of U.S.-supplied equipment in the Saudi arsenal, with a focus on air and ground forces. Much of this equipment has been put to use in the war in Yemen.... Read More »

In the wake of President Donald Trump’s yearning for a military parade, here are two questions I would like to ask: How long will we watch Congress increase military spending by the billions while slashing social programs and sabotaging safety nets for children and the elderly before we ask, “Who and what is our military really fighting for?”...Read More »